Trump, who advanced the idea of “rogue killers” responsible for Khashoggi’s death, helped sow doubt that the Saudi government orchestrated the killing, Brzezinski said. And she said it was similar to how Trump defused sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh during his nomination process.

“That can’t be our reality, and at some point this has to end, one way or another,” Brzezinski said.

That end, Scarborough said, was to marshal support for the midterm elections next month and weaken Trump’s influence in Congress.

“He didn’t want to be elected president, he didn’t think he was going to be elected president, he didn’t even think he was going to get the Republican nomination. He’s going to cash out,” Scarborough said.

“I think that would be a smart thing for him to do,” Colbert told Scarborough, as the audience laughed.

“I’ll tell you why I don’t want it to happen, because I think it’s important that the voters of America have an opportunity to say, ‘Oops, my bad, we made a mistake there’ and correct themselves.

"And if Donald Trump doesn’t run, he takes away that corrective action of history, and therefore his presidency is whole and unjudged, if he just doesn’t run again.”

Colbert said that if that were to happen, Trump could say, “'I fixed it, I made it great again, goodbye,’” and take the $100 million he raised and make “another failing casino or something,” Colbert said.

Scarborough said he was skeptical Trump would ride off into the sunset.

“He’ll get money from the Saudis. He’s right now proving to the Saudis he’ll be their lap dog. He’ll make money from [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin when he gets out. That’s why he’s been Putin’s lap dog. Donald Trump is all about money. It’s what drives him,” Scarborough said.

Alex HortonAlex Horton is a general assignment reporter for The Washington Post. He previously covered the military and national security for Stars and Stripes, and served in Iraq as an Army infantryman. Follow